Tuesday, 14 July 2015

The beauty world has been inundated with Japanese beauty products and inventions in the last year. Did they know spend an average of 20 - 30 minutes on their skin care routine and 5 minutes on make-up? We are the opposite, more focused on make-up than skincare. Perhaps we wouldn't have to spend so much time on make-up if our skin was better through a more intense routine.

One of the Japanese brands which has made it's way to the UK is DHC, available on Feel Unique's website. I was kindly sent their best selling items to review and see whether they were worth the hype.

I judge an eyeliner on the brush and the intensity of the black and this one scores points in both. I love that the nib is super thin but firm enough to get a good line. As for the pigment it's one of the blackest liners I've tried. I hate this crappy grey black shades you sometimes get with cheaper brands. This liner has a nifty lid that will stop it drying out too quickly, it has a springy top that you have to push hard to lock which means you can never leave it half opened.

I've seen their infamous Cleansing Oil mentioned on a few skincare blogs and always wanted to try it out. I'm very into my cleansing at the moment, using oils and creams to softly take off my make-up and then second cleansing to refresh the skin.

To put this oil to the test I tried to remove all of my make-up including their own tubing mascara which they asked me to test. I pumped a few drops into my hand and massaged into the skin, working it in and also soothing it over my eyes to remove make-up. You could instantly see my foundation melting away but my mascara was a little harder to remove.I would recommend a few drops for your face make-up, a rinse with a flannel and then another pump over the eyes again. It's a gentle formula so doesn't sting your eyes, which is a huge plus point for me as I have sensitive skin around my eyes.

It also doesn't have a fragrance, which makes it very gentle on the skin and eyes. It is very liquidy, so you do have to massage in quickly to avoid it dripping.

Overall really impressed with this oil, it's simple and kind to skin in it's formula. It leaves your skin feeling soothed and moisturised, ready for the next skincare step you choose.

I'm always on the hunt for the perfect primer, I have oily skin, so keeping my make-up in place is a nightmare. I would describe this primer as somewhere between the L'Oreal's Infalliable primer and the Max Factor Facefinity All Day primer; it's like half silicone, half cream formula.

I try and avoid silicone ones for everyday use as they can block pores, I'm happy this DHC one isn't overloaded with the ingredient. It leaves a smooth base for my make-up and doesn't feel heavy.

As for longevity, this primer makes my make-up last all day but I do have some serious oil on my T-zone by 4pm, which I have with most primers and foundations.

I'm not loyal to mascaras, I try a new one as soon as one has run out, normally what's on offer. I've tried plenty but have never used a 'tubing' mascara before. It coats the lashes with the formula which then creates tubes around your lashes to keep the curl for longer.

I loved how this made my lashes look, they were so long and fluttery! The brush isn't too big and it manages to grab every lash.

The downside to this mascara is the removal. As it has a tubing formula you can't just rub it off with a make-up wipe. The best way to remove is soaking a cotton wool pad in the Cleansing Oil and then pressing it down over the eye for a few seconds and then sweep the pad in a downward motion. Most of the tubes come off with this technique.

These little cotton buds are infused with olive oil, perfect for fixing any make-up mistakes. I often mess up my liquid liner, or my flicks end up uneven, rather than removing all of my eye make-up, these swabs are perfect just to quickly remove the mark. This packet of 50 will last me ages and I would really recommend them for make-up artists. They even come in their own plastic wrap to keep them fresh and hygienic.

Overall I'm super impressed with DHC, the products are simple, yet hard working and do not leave you disappointed.

I too am forever on the hunt for a good oil controlling primer. I've actually finally decided that silicone-gel type primers don't work for me at all and I'm trying to make my mind up on the thicker cream pore-filling type ones. So far I've only found one primer that I think actually helps keep my t-zone matte all day and that's the Paula's Choice one. I think you get a discount code with your first order so I managed to pick up a bunch of sample packets and that primer is something else! I'm still going on my samples but when I'm doing I'm definitely getting the full size of it and I'd really recommend looking into it!